How to Read Your Water Meter

There are several reasons why you would want to be able to locate and read your water meter. First, you might be interested in just how much water you use in a day. By reading your meter at the beginning and the end of the day you can compare the two totals to tell how much water you and your family used. The second reason is to check for leaks.

How to Read Your Water Meter

Here are some tips to help you find and read your water meter.

Step 1: Locate Your Meter

Your water meter is generally located near the curb in front of your home or place of business in a direct line with the main outside faucet. It is housed in a concrete box usually marked "water." Carefully remove the lid by using a tool such as a large screwdriver. Please, do not use your fingers. Insert the tool into one of the holes and pry the lid off. Visually examine the area around the meter to make sure there are no harmful insects or other animals.

Step 2: Read Your Water Meter

All customers within the City of Mansfield have their water use measured by a meter. This results in each customer paying their share of operating the system based upon the amount of water used.

All City of Mansfield water meters measure water in gallons. Charges for the amount of water consumed are based on the number of gallons you use during a billing period.

There are two basic types of water meters: the straight-reading meter, which resembles the an odometer in a car, and the round-reading meter, which has several separate dials. To read a typical City water meter, simply read across the numbers in the box. The current reading for the sample meter provided is 4,076,230 gallons. Some meters have only six digits instead of seven, but they are read exactly the same way. If the reading you had taken earlier was 4,062,110 you would have used 14,120 gallons.